This report provides a portrait of the social and economic characteristics of the population aged 65 and over in the United States at the national level.  It is part of the Census 2000 Special Reports series that presents several demographic, social, and economic characteristics collected from Census 2000. The data contained in this report are based on the sample of households who responded to the Census 2000 long form questionnaire. Estimated population and housing unit totals based on tabulations from only the sample counts may differ from the official 100-percent counts.